[Lamb1204]

I have a 2 yr basic computer - Dell Dimension 2400 running XP Home. After losing power several times, we got a blue screen with a warning that the registry was corrupt, so backup data. The computer came up in safe mode and we were able to run. While offloading the data, got another message stating that the utility to read the data was also damaged and so we couldn't save all the necessary files. Now I can't boot even in safe mode. Called Dell and they basically said everything was lost, replace the harddrive. A friend suggested I might be able to salvage files with some help from this site. From doing a search, it appears that I could buyand install a second hard drive, load XP onto the new drive and boot from there. I have a recovery disk from Dell that would set everything back to the way it came from the factory - would I be able to use this to make it work? I've added ram to other computers that I've owned, but I would need to be walked thru the master slave thing, if that's what the fix actually is. I'd also need help using the recovery disk. I have a laptop from work running XP Professional. Anyway to use that computer to rescue the data and then just replace the original hard drive in the desktop? I'm a neophyte, but trainable. Thanks for any help.

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Hi, and welcome to geeks to go.

Seems like you have had an awful problem, I'm sorry to hear that. Though, there may be some hope bringing it back. If you buy a new hard drive, then install XP on that drive, and plug in the old hard drive as a slave hard drive, you MAY be able to recover the data, though I very HIGHLY doubt it if it has had these problems. As it looks like you need a new hard drive anyway, I'm guessing this is the way forward.

EDIT:

80GB I'm assuming should be sufficient: http://www.ebuyer.co...oduct_uid=97632

Edited by SuperSam, 20 March 2006 - 01:26 PM.

[SuperSam]

Hi, and welcome to geeks to go.

Seems like you have had an awful problem, I'm sorry to hear that. Though, there may be some hope bringing it back. If you buy a new hard drive, then install XP on that drive, and plug in the old hard drive as a slave hard drive, you MAY be able to recover the data, though I very HIGHLY doubt it if it has had these problems. As it looks like you need a new hard drive anyway, I'm guessing this is the way forward.

EDIT:

80GB I'm assuming should be sufficient: http://www.ebuyer.co...oduct_uid=97632

Edited by SuperSam, 20 March 2006 - 01:26 PM.